# Aegan
**Aegan** (ஏகன்) is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film directed by [Raju Sundaram](https://www.edgepedia.org/raju-sundaram), a choreographer making his directorial debut, and starring [Ajith Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/ajith-kumar), Nayanthara, Navdeep, Piaa Bajpai, Jayaram, Suman, Nassar, and [Suhasini Maniratnam](https://www.edgepedia.org/suhasini-maniratnam).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aegan) It was produced by Ayngaran International and released in late October 2008 to coincide with the Diwali holiday season.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aegan)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / debut | Raju Sundaram, a choreographer, in his first film as director[2](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/mar-08-02/aegan-14-03-08.html) |
| Lead cast | Ajith Kumar as Shiva, Nayanthara as Malika, Suman as John Chinnappa, Navdeep as Narain, Piaa Bajpai as Pooja[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1311638/) |
| Release | 25 October 2008 (India), per IMDb; Cinema Online Malaysia lists 24 October 2008[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1311638/) • [4](https://www.cinema.com.my/movies/details.aspx?search=2008.5564.aegan.10667) |
| Music | Yuvan Shankar Raja, his third consecutive film with Ajith after *Dheena* and *Billa*[5](https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/news/2008/aegan-remake-main-hoon-na-011008.html) |
| Budget / gross | ₹130,000,000 (estimated) budget; $555,907 gross worldwide per IMDb[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1311638/) |
| Chennai box office | Rs. 31.1 million (Rs. 3.11 crore) total over seven weeks; trade verdict "average"[6](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-slide-shows/movie-3/top-ten-movies-dec-15/tamil-cinema-topten-movie-aegan.html) |
| Audience rating | 4.5/10 on IMDb from about 2,000 voters[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1311638/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Ajith Kumar plays Shiva, a CBI officer who goes undercover as a college student in Ooty to hunt down the terrorist John Chinnappa (Suman) and protect Pooja (Piaa Bajpai), the daughter of the man who helped the police by revealing Chinnappa's plan.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aegan) While carrying out the mission, Shiva also tries to reconcile with his half-brother Narain (Navdeep), born of his father's relationship with another woman.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aegan)
The villain's motive, as described in the film's synopsis, is political: Chinnappa is a scientist whose schemes involve experimenting on eleven human subjects who crossed the border by accident.[18](https://jephmann.com/movies/film.php?id=69389) Having lost his son in the Indo-Pak wars in Kashmir, he wants to sabotage *Milaap* (Unity), a military project toward friendship between India and Pakistan, because he believes Pakistan will betray India.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aegan)
## Production
Ayngaran International officially announced the project in February 2008 as a reunion of Ajith Kumar and [Nayanthara](https://www.edgepedia.org/nayanthara) after their hit *Billa* (2007), jointly produced by Karunamoorthy and actor [Arun Pandian](https://www.edgepedia.org/arun-pandian).[7](https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/news/2008/ayngaran-films-ajith-nayantara-260208.html) S. Ramakrishnan wrote the dialogues, Arjun Jena was the cinematographer, and Milan, who had worked on *Billa*, returned as art director.[7](https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/news/2008/ayngaran-films-ajith-nayantara-260208.html) The film went on floors without a title; the name Aegan was later chosen, inspired by the Sivapuranam.[8](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/mar-08-01/aegan-05-03-08.html) Cinema Online Malaysia reports that earlier working titles included "Akbar," "Ramakrishnan," and "Anthony Gonsalves," and that the chosen title translates as "the one and only powerful God"; Rotten Tomatoes gives the English meaning as *Protector*.[4](https://www.cinema.com.my/movies/details.aspx?search=2008.5564.aegan.10667) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aegan)
**Shooting.** The unit filmed for 15 days in Hong Kong, where one fight was staged with the help of [Jackie Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-chan)'s stunt master, with song sequences planned in England, Australia, and New Zealand.[2](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/mar-08-02/aegan-14-03-08.html) Other schedules took the team to [Visakhapatnam](https://www.edgepedia.org/visakhapatnam), Yercaud, Thekkady, and [Kazakhstan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kazakhstan) for a song with the lead pair.[9](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/may-08-04/aegan-27-05-08.html) The climax, involving Ajith, was shot at Adyar in Chennai in June 2008.[10](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/jun-08-03/aegan-21-06-08.html) Raju Sundaram explained Ajith's bearded look as fitting a violent police officer capable of completing any task assigned to him.[2](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/mar-08-02/aegan-14-03-08.html)
## Remake question
Sources disagree on the film's relationship to earlier works. IMDb's trivia and connections pages identify *Aegan* as the Tamil version of the 2004 Hindi film *Main Hoon Na*, and a Nowrunning review states that Raju Sundaram took the plot's crux from that film.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1311638/) • [11](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/5119/tamil/aegan/1883/review.htm) Rotten Tomatoes' synopsis says the film drew inspiration from the 1986 Hollywood film *Back to School* as well as *Main Hoon Na*.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aegan) Raju Sundaram himself rejected the remake label before release, telling reporters that the film was instead built on the stories of *Back to School* and a Korean film.[12](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/specials/25-aegan-is-not-the-remake-of-mein-hoon-naa-raju-sundaram.html)
## Release and box office
The audio was launched on 9 October, the day of Vijayadasami, shortly before the theatrical release scheduled for Deepavali.[5](https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/news/2008/aegan-remake-main-hoon-na-011008.html) Ayngaran, for which this was its maiden Tamil venture, released the film on more than 500 theaters worldwide, including 17 theaters in Chennai; according to a Tamil Filmibeat report, this was the first time an Ajith film opened in that many Chennai theaters.[12](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/specials/25-aegan-is-not-the-remake-of-mein-hoon-naa-raju-sundaram.html)
The film won the box-office contest among the Diwali 2008 releases and was described as a major hit at the South Indian box office in one account,[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aegan) but trade tracking from [Behindwoods](https://www.edgepedia.org/behindwoods) during its run told a weaker story: after seven weeks it had collected Rs. 31.1 million (Rs. 3.11 crore) in Chennai, with weekend occupancy of 25 percent across 13 shows and a verdict of "average."[6](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-slide-shows/movie-3/top-ten-movies-dec-15/tamil-cinema-topten-movie-aegan.html) IMDb lists an estimated budget of ₹130,000,000 and a worldwide gross of $555,907.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1311638/)
## Reception
Most reviews judged the film an "entertainer for Diwali" but labeled it overall as "average."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aegan) Sify called it "an amateurish attempt by debutant director Raju Sundaram" and dismissed the climax as "a colossal embarrassment," while adding that "no film is perfect."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aegan) The Times of India gave it 2 out of 5, writing that it was neither a hardcore action film with adrenaline nor a sleek, stylish one like *Billa*, and criticized the comedy as dated slapstick.[13](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/aegan/movie-review/4022482.cms) Nowrunning's reviewer PVS rated it "Skip," calling it "a total let down even to the hardcore fans of Ajith" with a weak story and an unconvincing climax.[11](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/5119/tamil/aegan/1883/review.htm) Behindwoods wrote that although Raju Sundaram wanted the film to be a comedy, he drifted away from that intent halfway through, leaving viewers perplexed.[6](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-slide-shows/movie-3/top-ten-movies-dec-15/tamil-cinema-topten-movie-aegan.html)
Audience scores have stayed modest: IMDb records 4.5/10 from about 2,000 users, and [BookMyShow](https://www.edgepedia.org/bookmyshow) shows 7.3/10 from more than 110 votes.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1311638/) • [14](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/tiru/aegan/ET00012606) User reviews on [Letterboxd](https://www.edgepedia.org/letterboxd) have singled out Ajith's screen presence, [Yuvan Shankar Raja](https://www.edgepedia.org/yuvan-shankar-raja)'s songs and background score, and the comedy of the college principal as the film's strong points, while criticizing the late introduction and offscreen resolution of the estranged-brother storyline.[15](https://letterboxd.com/film/aegan/reviews/)
## The actor Aegan
The name also belongs to a Tamil actor who took his surname from the film's producer family. He earned praise for his performances in *Joe* and *Kozhi Pannai Chelladurai*, and he stars in the Tamil romantic drama *Haiku*, written and directed by Yuvaraj Chinnasamy, which released in theaters on Friday, October 23, 2026, alongside Sri Devi and [Femina George](https://www.edgepedia.org/femina-george).[16](https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/news/2026/haiku-hit-or-flop-early-audience-verdict-on-aegan-sri-devi-femina-george-romantic-drama-film-535677.html) • [17](https://epaper.truepointnews.com/media/2026-02/tpn-tg-020226.pdf) Early audience posts on X rated *Haiku* between 2.5 and 3 out of 5, praising the performances and Siddu Kumar's music while finding the second half uneven.[16](https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/news/2026/haiku-hit-or-flop-early-audience-verdict-on-aegan-sri-devi-femina-george-romantic-drama-film-535677.html)
## References
1. [Aegan, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aegan)
2. [Raju Sundaram on Ajith's beard, Behindwoods (14 March 2008)](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/mar-08-02/aegan-14-03-08.html)
3. [Aegan (2008), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1311638/)
4. [AEGAN, Cinema Online Malaysia](https://www.cinema.com.my/movies/details.aspx?search=2008.5564.aegan.10667)
5. [Aegan: Remake of Main Hoon Na, Filmibeat](https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/news/2008/aegan-remake-main-hoon-na-011008.html)
6. [Aegan, Behindwoods Top Ten Movies / Chennai collections](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-slide-shows/movie-3/top-ten-movies-dec-15/tamil-cinema-topten-movie-aegan.html)
7. [Aegan - Officially announced!, Filmibeat (26 February 2008)](https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/news/2008/ayngaran-films-ajith-nayantara-260208.html)
8. [One more important character in Aegan, Behindwoods (5 March 2008)](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/mar-08-01/aegan-05-03-08.html)
9. [Ajith and Nayan in Kazakhstan, Behindwoods (27 May 2008)](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/may-08-04/aegan-27-05-08.html)
10. [Ajith shifts to Adyar, Behindwoods (21 June 2008)](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/jun-08-03/aegan-21-06-08.html)
11. [Aegan Movie Review by PVS, Nowrunning (27 October 2008)](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/5119/tamil/aegan/1883/review.htm)
12. [ஏகன் இந்தி ரீமேக் அல்ல!-ராஜு சுந்தரம், Tamil Filmibeat (25 October 2008)](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/specials/25-aegan-is-not-the-remake-of-mein-hoon-naa-raju-sundaram.html)
13. [Aegan Movie Review {2/5}, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/aegan/movie-review/4022482.cms)
14. [Aegan (2008), BookMyShow](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/tiru/aegan/ET00012606)
15. [Reviews of Aegan (2008), Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/film/aegan/reviews/)
16. [Haiku Hit Or Flop? Early Audience Verdict On Aegan, Sri Devi And Femina George's Romantic Drama Film, Filmibeat (23 October 2026)](https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/news/2026/haiku-hit-or-flop-early-audience-verdict-on-aegan-sri-devi-femina-george-romantic-drama-film-535677.html)
17. [True Point News e-paper, Hyderabad (February 2026)](https://epaper.truepointnews.com/media/2026-02/tpn-tg-020226.pdf)
18. [Aegan (2008), Movies, Jeffrey Hartmann](https://jephmann.com/movies/film.php?id=69389)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Tamil films of the 2000s › Tamil films of the late 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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